Capturing A Growing Family

These pictures, albiet precious and momentous are a little out of date. But, really only my family readers will recognize that, so the rest of you read on and pay no attention to the fact that there are a few missing offspring in this generational photo.

And to those family members reading, please, please send me any updated group photos of all of our cutie pies together. If any exist. If not, well its high time we arrange a get together. If only for the oppurtunity to force our kids to squish together in a picture on the fireplace harth or porch swing.

Because I have countless memories being posed with all of you stinkers as kids on hammocks, swings, front porches, etc. Slackers is what we are; slackers of the worse kidn. We must carry on the fmaily traidition with this new generation. Its just unfair that they escape the experience of being planted together for family photos at least once a year.

Down right wrong if you ask me.

But I have no hard feelings about about our own forced poses. Nope. None. Not even the time the hammock fell and knockerd the ever-livin' wind out of every last one of us. Or the frightening sparks of fireplace harths that would jump out and attach themselves to our clothes and hair leaving a smoldering smell of burnt polyester lingering in the air.

But back to the precious and momentous stuff.

Cute bunch of kids, huh?

Amazingly these were not forced group pictures.Smiles like that don't come in forced settings. 

They were candidly caught one Happy Holiday when we were actually all in the same place at the same time.

Well, I'm happy to say that even though these pictures are missing, oh... somewhere between 4 or 5 birthed children since it was taken. We have new ones on the way. (YES- that's plural) Two more to add to this gnarley crew.

But one in particular belongs to my sister. A nice or nephew of my very own.  

September can't get here fast enough!

The morrow was a bright September morn;

The earth was beautiful as if new-born;

There was that nameless splendor everywhere,

That wild exhilaration in the air,

Which makes the passers in the city street

Congratulate each other as they meet.

~Henry Wadswaorth Longfellow

Endless Needs

"The sun is about to come up. The aftershocks continue. Some more noticeable than others. There is no way to even begin to share the things we’ve heard and seen since 5pm yesterday. To do so would take hours that we don’t have to give right now. Some of them feel wrong to tell. Like only God should know these personal horrible tragedies. "

From a missionary family serving in Haiti. Read more here.

These days are full of needs beyond most of our comprehension. The horrific situation over in Haiti weighs heavily on my heart right now. As help has begun to trickle in the last 24 hours, more and more images are flooding the media. Splashed across television, the internet, newspapers, and everywhere in between Haiti's desperation is being forced into our living rooms.

This one brings tears to my eyes of both joy and sadness. What appears to be a rescued child, may now be an orphan.

I'm praying for this community. The people. The rescue workers and first responders. The physicians and politicians. The children and their teachers. The parents, siblings, sons, and daughters. The family's of those lost and those found.

Please join me in these prayers.

Remember this little bit of adorableness.

Well, she needs your prayers too. She is a little sick right now. Well, actually she is a little sick all of the time, but she is a LOT sick right now. She may be heading back into the hospital this weekend. She has visited the hospital more times in her short little four years of life than any of us would care to even think about.

Yet, she still smiles like this on her good days.

Her Mommy could use some prayers too. She fulfills the role of the brave, nurturing, and patient mommy better than anyone I have ever seen. She calmly administers painful treatments to her daughter while trying to re-direct her attention with songs and happy faces. Bravely, she packs her three children into the car and faces trepid weather and cantankerous kids to visit the doctor on a more than frequent basis. Patiently, she faces many sleepless nights with the sick one.

Routinely, like most mothers she
visits the grocery store,
washes the clothes,
cleans the house,
changes diapers,
cooks dinner,
pays bills,
irons clothes,
gives baths,
washes hair,
packs bags,
unpacks bags,

and then, as if she needs more to do she

runs a business,
answering emails,
fielding phone calls,
managing people,
manageing events,
hiring and firing,
and all of the other responsibilities that come along with that.

My guess is....she's exhausted. She's broken on the inside from putting on the brave face while watching the agony of her own offspring crying in pain and desperation. She's desperate for her daughter to just have a run of the mill cold that goes away in 3-5 days.  She's in need of a kid-less day for a pedicure and a haircut, but she'd probably settle for a 2 hour nap and a day with no Dr. appointments or phone calls.

Please join me in praying for this little one and her mommy and the rest of their family.

Blessings to all,

Conversations with "G"

I should rename this blog to Conversations With "G." They are the highlight of my days. I'm sure they would be the highlight of yours too. In fact, let's try it out today and see how it works.

Scene: Driving in the car at 9pm at night to CVS to purchase throat lozenges for the sore throat he has had all day and not informed me about until now.

Mom: (after taking in a whiff of one very rank odor) "G," did you fart?

G: Yes.

Mom: Thank you.

G: It was my pleasure.

When Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade

So, my son's chief complaint these days revolves around his height. Or lack of it. Unfortunately, the kids gene pool isn't working for him in this area, but ain't no thing. He's working it out. Making lemonade out of lemons just like mama said.

Today he told me the best thing about his height are the "hugging benefits."

"Huh? What's that?" says the oh so naive mom.

Well, G's much taller friend from the back agreed that when it comes to girls, G has all the advantage because he is the perfect height when it comes to hugging girls.

Oh. Oh my. Oh my aching ears.

I'm just not sure how much more of this I can take.

And we haven't even made it to 13 yet.

YIKES!

Confessions of a Snooping Mom

Time for a confession. I really need to get something off my chest.

I hacked my sons email account.

It all started so harmlessly. Just a few days ago he was still needing assistance logging into his account and I knew his password because, of course, I was the one who set it up.

But, one girlfriend and a weekend with his aunt later, he has secured his email account from his old mom. Changed his password. Without my knowledge. What is this world coming too? Who does he think he is?

This old mom won't be outsmarted though.

Know what I did?

Yep. Changed the password again.

I've never been a fan of IT folk. Not so great experiences with their kind in my lifetime. But, today more than any other time in my life I truly appreciate the power of the administrator role and have a healthy (if only temporary) respect for that role.

Want to know what I found? I know your dying to know.

Here it is..

GF: Hi baby I miss u VERY much:( 2 quick questions,,,, What makes u brake up with a girl? What makes u love a girl? I would brake up with a guy if I found he was cheating on me or if he wasn't a Christian. I would love a guy if he was funny, sweat, nice to me an my friends, and CARES for me and my feelings!! That is a good thing baby that u r all of those things to me!!!!! Luv u,, try to plz check u email more often plz baby!!!!

BF: what makes me brake up wid a girl is if she is a deadbeat (wich ur not) and a total female dog. What makes me love a girl is her smile and how she wont hide her feelings and if she is nice, funny , and cares for me.luv u lots.reply SOOOOON lol

Let me just interject here that although their English teachers for the last 7 years would be mortified at the spelling and grammar skills displayed throughout their exchanges, I am particularly proud here of G's creative use of descriptive words in order to avoid using profanity. Did you catch that? If not, please re-read. I promise you will get a chuckle.

GF: awsome u rock
BF: u no it babe
Is it just me, or do you think she might be coming on a little strong?

GF: (tiger roar u know like the sexy way)
BF: ? idk
GF: nvm i will tell u later sexy
BF: by sexy
YES! YES! YES! He didn't get the tiger roar comment! There is some preservation of innocence still there.

Guess I have some explaining to do before GF takes that education responsibility on herself. I'm a little concerned about where she might go with that.

It's on my calendar for later in the week. Time for another of our mom/son dates at Chili's for some birds and bees discussion over Chicken Crispers, endless Dr. Pepper and molten chocolate cake. As much as I would really prefer to throw back a couple shots of whiskey before embarking on this little convo, I guess giving G his favorite meal will make ease the pain some...at least he will be less grumpy about the whole thing.

I'm sure there are some real critics out there who would like to tie me to a pole and give me a thousand lashes for even thinking of invading my child's privacy and, on top of that, posting it for the world to see. But, the great thing is when your a parent, you can do that. And not really care what everyone in the world thinks.

Besides, G doesn't read this. Neither does the GF. So, I think I'm in the clear. At least for now.

A Heart of Gold

When I was in the ninth grade, I began to spend some time with this crazy girl I met on the bus. I had no idea then the treasure of a friend she would be to me through out my life. At least until this point...so, let's be careful not to screw anything up now D.

I could write a book about what this girl means to me and all of the things she has taught me and a few of the things that I have taught her (wink, wink). But, today I find myself reminiscing about her sweet, precious mother.

Good memories of an endless supply of Little Debbie powdered donuts, sweet tea, antique pictures and sweet lullaby's of children's music being hummed or tinkering on the piano warm my heart when I think of her.

In what seemed like the wee hours of the morning to a teenage girl trying to get her beauty sleep and recover from the adventures of the night before, there would be the aroma of coffee in the air and a plop on the bed and a familiar voice saying..."girls. girls. wake up and talk to me." She would gently rouse us to somewhat of a conscience state and we would rehash our adventures as best we could and nearly always with limited details because she was a parent, of course. We discussed everything from our friends and boyfriends, church, our choice of hairspray and lipstick colors (which happen to be Rave and Coral Rust or Wild Berry lip pencil plus from Merle Norman) and the happenings of the neighborhood pool where we both lifegaurded, calculus homework and when the next occasion would be to hit Casa Ole for our fix of chips and salsa.



Doesn't she look like she has a heart of gold? and be an early riser? and want company to rise with her? Just wait Blake, your day is coming too. (Photo compliments of your facebook page Kathy...thanks for sharing.)
As I was saying though...Words really can not express how important these chats have become to me. Priceless is about the closest thing I could ever say to describe how I feel about them. Of course when I was 16, priceless was not the thought that crossed my mind.

So priceless in fact, that my own child gets the pleasure of early morning wake up calls and chats of his own. Too bad I don't keep the endless supply of Little Debbie powdered donuts to ease the pain of those early mornings. No matter to me, I cherish this time with him and I know one day he will too.

Today marks the beginning of a new journey for Martha Ladd. At this moment, she is in a hospital in Maryland about to undergo a most significant, open heart surgery. She has had a sick heart for as long as I have known her and had gradually been deteriorating over the years. Her case has been through countless diagnosis, treatments and even lack of treatments because Dr.'s have been at a complete and utter loss for her condition is so rare.

Please keep her in your prayers today and her family. They are hopeful that the Dr.'s will be able to repair and restore her heart to a condition that she has not known in a very long time.

You can keep up with updates on Martha's status and post messages for her and the family here.

The Mother In Me Could Not Resist...

Believe in the Bunny!

A little pink egg made it's way into the hands of my handsome little son this Easter.

He just decided to share it with me this evening.

Inside are two pieces of notebook paper.

Note one.

My fancy for you is growing.

Note two.

If guy friends were flowers I'd pick you. You're a great friend. You care for me when I am sad and give me a shoulder to bend down and cry on. Your awsome!

"Heart,"

Chy

P.S. Believe in the bunny!

I hate to admit it, but I like her.

It's a milestone for my precious boy. His first "girlfriend."

Sweet innocence in its purest and finest form.

Wild Things

Where the Wild Things Are

a book byMaurice Sendak has been a favorite in our house for the last 12 years.

There was a time when we read it about 3-4 times a week for the bedtime story.

Every little boy relates. And mom too...




I can't wait!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...It's Only a Day Away

Even though he is one of the 'big kids' now, he is still one of the 'little kids.' As I sit and type I am listening to my 'little kid' play basketball with the high school neighbor in the driveway. 'Big kid' is giving directions, instructing and encouraging 'little kid' who lets out a whoop of excitement periodically over his own little job-well-done.

But, less than an hour ago I was sitting across the table in a restaurant from my 'little kid' having a conversation and thinking what a 'big kid' he is becoming. The conversation went something like this:

'Little Kid' (LK): "Mom, what do I do to get rid of this?" (he says while using both hands to grab at his belly)

Mom: "Well, being aware of what you are eating is a good place to start. But, why the sudden concern about changing your appearance" (pertinent information: he added to his chore list last week his own version of a weekly workout regiment. i.e. Mondays and Wednesday- 5 minutes with weights. BTW, I am sure all he heard was blah, blah, blah...)

LK: "You know we have that Spring trip coming up with Orchestra and it's to Splashtown!"

At this point, this LK sitting in front of me all of the sudden became a BIG KID! Thankfully, we are still at this awkward stage of wavering on that line between big and little.

The waiter approaches the table and all of the sudden the fearless LK emerges again and orders a slice of chocolate chip cake. No worries, he assures me. He will start eating better tomorrow.

Shoulda Putta Ring On It

"Every time I meet a new girl, they always live out of town and I'll never see them again."

Says my 12 year old son, after leaving a wedding this weekend and meeting a new young lady from Ponca City, Oklahoma. I ponder this statement and curiously ask, "just how many young ladies HAVE you actually loved and lost, my young friend?" In his entire 12 years of life, it's only been a couple of months that I have noticed this budding interest in the ladies. You know the kind that starts with,"I really want Naomie to win on the Bachelor because I think she's hot!" I think it's only fair to ask, don't you?

Besides, I have to be as prepared as possible for that day in the very near future when his dating life surpasses my near to non-existent one.

Walk.Run.Live.Love.

Next Saturday, myself along with a fantastic team of family and friends will be participating in the Methodist Hospital Stride4Stroke Awareness 5K Walk/Run. It's been over a year since I first set out to do a little jog around the block. A smoker then, this was no easy task. My goal was a neighborhood loop that was approximately 1 mile. As you can imagine, it took me several weeks to accomplish the task of a consistent snails pace jog around that one mile loop. Walking breaks were more like jogging breaks when I first started.

Walk for about 5 minutes and jog for about 20 seconds. No, that is not a typo.

It did not take long for me to realize that quitting the nicotine habit would vastly improve my lung capacity and hence my ability to drag myself around the neighborhood on foot. The idea of quitting had already been something I mulled over and really, I had put all the steps in place and cut back to just a handful a day. If you have ever been a hard core smoker, then you know this is no easy task.

It wasn't long before I found myself in the Dr.'s office asking about a new Rx to help curb the effects of quitting. Of course, she was completely on board with that and I jumped on the Chantix bandwagon. Along with tons of prayer and the strength of the Lord, I was able to quit on my 'quit date' and never look back.

Needless to say, I am now running on average 12-15 miles a week and feel healthier than I ever have in my life. My chances of having a stroke have been reduced significantly.

But, all that is not really the story I want to share with you.

In 2004, my aunt (grandmother of this little bit of heaven) suffered a severe stroke. She was moved to Methodist Hospital in Houston and the prognosis was grim. The details are all a little hazy to me now, but I recall the biggest detail of all. It was uncertain whether she would survive or not and even if she did, her quality of life would suffer dramatically. She was a healthy woman, guys. She did not smoke or drink alcohol. She exercised regularly, ate healthy meals, maintained a healthy work/life balance and loved the Lord with all of her heart! But, even in those ideal circumstances she lived with stress in her life. Really, how many of us don't?

Needless to say, she has made a miraculous recovery. She has returned to her life of working, exercising, eating healthy and loving and living for the Lord. She is an AMAZING lady!

Here she is with her daughter and newest granddaughter.

Stroke education isn't in the forefront of medical news like cancer or heart health. This walk/run is to help support Methodist Hospitals education efforts. For more stroke education and resources, please check out their site. You can find information on signs, symptoms, risk factors and treatments.

Sadly, not everyone survives a stroke. A dear, dear friend of mine lost her father to a stroke several years ago. He had all the classic risk factors associated with stroke victims, but chose to do nothing about it. Could his choices have been different if the educational resources were more readily available to him? Possibly so.

If you would like to support our team and Methodist Hospital, please go here and make a donation to the team s4s_walk.run.live.love. The denomination of your support does not matter, it's the attitude of giving that means the most.

Heavenly Feast

A craving and the overwhelming need to not cook or clean or eat leftovers again took over me last night. It was this unfulfilled desire for something salty, steaming hot and overwhelmingly delicious that led me right to one of my top 20 Mexican food restaurants there are way too many fantastic Mexican food restaurants in Southeast Texas to really narrow this down any more than that with G and my friend, Jori, for dinner. As we were savoring every last bite of the sizzling fajitas with gobs of guacamole, salsa and queso. Jori suddenly proclaims...."Surely there will be fajitas in heaven!"

Amen sister!

G follows this statement with "...and Totino's pizza rolls and fishsticks!" Now there is someone with a refined pallet, my friends!

His conviction was so dead on that you would almost think it was written somewhere that we will most definitely be snacking on the best tasting, highest calorie, most processed foods ever made by man one fine day!

Adorableness

Ain't she a doll? She has captured my heart!

'Sweet Smell' of Success

Do you have an exercise regiment? If so, you have to check out this website. Don't be fooled by the name mapmyrun.com because it's really not all about running. You can map your ride. Or your swim. Or you can track workouts of any type. It's a great tool that I have been using for a while and although I have yet to get a report that I have actually burned enough calories to loose weight, I do find myself going back to the site over and over again.

There is an interesting new feature. Track your BO. Nope. Not kidding. They have partnered up with Fabreeze and a new sport product and study. So, I am to be receiving a sample of this new product in the mail soon, which according to little man, can't come soon enough. But, I'll have you know that I got a good report tonight. On a scale of 1 to 10, Griffin gave me a "5 and most of the time it's topping a 10."

We are now watching The Bachelor. I know. I know. Quality, family TV programming is what your thinking. But, really he is going to be a teenager in one more year. Dating is just around the corner and somehow he has to learn how that whole thing works. My thought it that watching the Bachelor will be a teaching tool for what NOT to do.

Guess what?

He gets it. Totally gets it.

As he watched Jason (this season's Bachelor) kiss one girl after the other tonight he boldly proclaimed that "he is so getting meningitis! I bet he has to have a flu and meningitis shot every other day!"

My lips are sealed. As long as his needle phobia keeps him from locking lips with girls, then I see no reason why he needs to understand anything differently now.

Friday. At Last.

So, it's here. Finally. I'm not sure it could have gotten here any faster.

Hopefully, I can get through this bad case of the "don't wanna's" today with a little musical inspiration. Changed the Pandora station from Mozart to Colby O'Donis this morning. Time to move into a weekend kind of groove.

Insert aside here: Did you know that the annoying Santa can be hushed to make your visit here a little more pleasant? I've come to realize that his cuteness increases dramatically when he is quiet. Just click the little "hush" in the top right hand corner and you can enjoy his silence too.

My plans include some quality sister time cooking up something delicious like this and maybe if we can spare some calories share a yummy bottle of wine. If not, then we may just have to hit the long Quail Trail at the park Saturday morning before heading off to our stepsisters bridal shower.

Looks like its going to be a splendid weekend. What's in store for yours?

Sipping something hot...

Funny things the kid says again.

Background: Last night we stopped at Starbucks on our way to the 4-H club meeting. I was secretly hoping the caffeine was ward off my ravenous hunger for another couple of hours. But, the kid wanted something too. So, cafe mocha it was for the kid and a very bold coffee for mom.

Quote of the night as he takes his first gulp after several warnings to go slow because it's hot-

"I just love the way your spit gets all warm after you take a sip of something hot."

Oh the precious jewels of information that we get from our kids. How would we ever stop to think about things like this without the creative minds of our youth?

By the way, that pig infatuation reference the last sentence of this post, not the potential date, please! has finally been talked down to a rabbit. I'm hopping pun is totally intended here up and down for joy now, no early morning and late nights jaunts to the barn on the other side of town. Just a hop again with the pun, skip and a jump to the backyard for a little rabbit quality time.

Sick Day

G: Hey mom, know what e-colee is?

Mom: You mean e-coli?

G: Yea, whatever. You know what it does to your body?

Mom: Tell me.

G: It's a bacteria that turns your organs to pudding. (very exaggerated on the words 'organs' and 'pudding')

Mom: Hmm...do you know where that comes from?

G: Cow patties.

I think we are safe to just leave it at that for now. Don't you?

Today is a sick day. Not for me, but for my son. So after enviously watching him saw logs on the sofa until nearly 9am (can you detect the motherly compassion there?) he rose to read a little out of this book. (BTW, Every child should own this book. Their knowledge base is just not complete without knowing all the gross and disgusting things in this world. Especially if they turn your insides to pudding.)Thus, the conversation excerpt from above.

Note: Began this at 9:45 am. Picking back up here at 3:30pm.

So, we have been to the Dr. and back and have a case of "acute onset wheezing." Funniest thing I have ever heard. We chuckled about it some in the Dr. office while waiting for our educational lesson on using an inhaler and spacer. Do you know, they even bill the insurance for that education session? Yes sir. Marked clear as day, "teaching session" to be coded in for insurance billing. Unfortunately, the equipment used to inhale the medicine is not billable to the insurance company, but the 5 minute lesson on how to use it, can be. Can you tell I am on a soap box about this yet? I'm stepping down now.

So, we are now non-wheezing in the late afternoon. Laughing and able to finish a sentence without a coughing fit. Thank goodness, because while watching Blackbeard's Ghost, one can only help but laugh a time or too.

Twelve years ago today....

... my little ham made his grand entrance.

What a sweet doll?

Happy Birthday, baby!

24 Hours of Non-Stop Cheer!

Christmas Eve descended upon us in such a hurry, that I barely had time to finish my shopping. Typically, I am finished with a couple days to spare, but this year I was making purchases well into Christmas Eve. Rushing to beat the clock before 6pm, when all of life comes to a screeching halt!

I wrapped it up and then went home and wrapped it up. All done. brushes hands together and takes a deep sigh.

My house looked like a Christmas circus. Mom had joined us by the afternoon and brought with her what looked like the entire stock of Christmas gifts straight from Santa's workshop! Dodging gifts and dogs, we all rushed to get dressed and head out for the Christmas Eve service at church.

The service is always a much needed reprieve from the hurridness and blurr of the pre-Holiday season. A time to focus and meditate on what the true meaning of Christmas is really all about.

Tomorrow is my sons birthday and one of the things that always comes to mind on his birthday is the sequence of events that occurred that day. Where I ate, who I was with, where we traveled too and when, the time that I first realized and freaked out that I was about to bring a child into this world!

When I woke on Christmas Eve, I spent some time reading in Luke the story of Mary, Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Before the bustle of Christmas began, I wanted to be reminded by Luke the physician, exactly what the details were that accounted for that day and the preceeding and following days. The things that stick with me most are Mary's humbleness and response to the Lord and the events of those days.

In verse 38, Mary humbly and respectfully acknowledges that she "is the Lord's servant," when she was told by the angel Gabriel, that she a woman engaged to be married, a virgin, had found favor in God's eyes and would give birth to this child who would be "great and called the Son of the Most High." (v. 32) Then after enduring, what I can only imagine was much ridicule and shame from onlookers who did know or believe the story she may or may not have told them, she travels per the decree with her fiance to Judea.

Now, I remember explicitly the dull and constant pain that persisted in my lower back the entire day that I had Griffin. Uncomfortably, I managed to walk around the mall, go out to eat at Chili's and reluctantly, head on over to Block Busters so my mom and sister could pick out a movie to watch. Here was Mary, nine months pregnant, traveling on foot or some donkey just to be counted for a census. In today's day, I would have just said; "count me out, man." My 45 minute adventure in Chili's a few hours before Griffin was born is enough to grasp some sort of understanding of the physical discomfort that Mary endured.

And then to arrive and have no place to stay, go into labor and bear a child in a barn! The hospital could not have been sterile enough for me and my baby. Here she was, no pain medicines, doctors, Lamaze techniques or tranquil music playing bearing down and pushing this child into the world in what I can only imagine was near to complete darkness. Just to lie him in a feeding trough.

Then she says, as the Shepherd's arrive and found the three; Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, "Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) Mary treasured all these things up! The birth of her son in a barn after an eternally long journey and a visit by Shepherds. Every time I read or hear this story, I am simply amazed at how Mary conducts herself. The strength she had when accepting the risk and offering herself as a servant of the Lord. She truly was an amazing person to have handled such a situation so gracefully.

Well, that little diversion in my 24 hour Christmas marathon truly set the stage for a Christmas to remember. As I journeyed through my day, I stopped periodically to ponder the events or feelings that she may have had. Of course, the only thing I can relate it too is my own birthing experience which happened close to 9:30pm. So, all day I went through a sequence of events similar to my own. Disclaimer here: Now I know it is silly to think that Jesus was born at that time of the evening or to know exactly what time it was, I am just trying to explain my thought process here and how I relate. So any die hard theologians reading this should cool your heels. Right now.

All in all, I drifted in an out of perspective all day long. After finally making it to the Christmas Eve service, my mom, Griffin and I set out on adventure of our own. The pastor made a comment of a Griswald type house on a street called Confederate. Thank the good Lord for GPS, because we were quickly able to type that bad boy street name in and head on over that way to check out the awesome display of lights for our Christmas Eve pleasures. We zipped on up, only to find that the lights were not turned on. So, we missed the "house to see in Houston" this year, but added it to our list of things to do next year.

Now the fun begins. None of this would be entertaining without giving you the chronological details of the evening. So, here goes:

8:45pm, Jill, Eric and Gigi arrive
9:00pm, Jill, Eric, Griffin and Amy head to Dad's for Christmas with that family
11:00pm, Jill, Eric, Griffin and Amy return home
11:30pm, Jill, Eric, Griffin, Amy and mom sit down to eat dinner. NO! I'm not kidding!
12:00pm Griffin finally decides to head to bed without eating because it was too late and he was too tired. imagine that!
12:40pmish Jill, Eric and Amy head over to Santa's storage facility aka Jori's garage to pick up the goods.
1:00am Jill reminds me that this is what I get for insisting on the "if you don't believe, you don't receive" rule in my house. It's really ok to laugh here because that is all we could do at this time too. We were so exhausted.
1:30amish, I think we are done. Jill and Amy open a bottle of wine and try to relax before heading off for a few hours of sleep.

7:00AM- Nana wakes the house! YES! Christmas day is here!

Let the festivities begin! Due to the annual tradition of one person opening a gift at a time, fielding phone calls from relatives, preparing breakfast mid-gift opening, it only took us a few hours to get through the entire gifting experience! But, all fun and memorable hours, for sure.

After a quick clean up came the annual photo in the matching pajama's. Setting the camera on a timer and getting all six of us with dogs included to pose for a picture was quite an event. I'll let the slide show speak for itself on this. But, having matching PJ's and attaining the perfect family picture each Christmas is so worth the effort!